Mt Whitney Zone
Posted By: RenoFrank Vacation Destination - 11/01/15 04:27 AM
I'm hoping this group with various outdoors experiences can recommend a destination for my hiking group. We like to rent a vacation home for 4 or 5 days. We have been to Yosemite twice, Zion, and last August we had a 6 bedroom house at Mammoth Lakes. We prefer a time of the year when there is no snow.

Currently I am researching Santa Cruz, CA and Bend, OR. Hanging at the beach sounds like fun, some of the vacation homes even provide surf boards. Ideally there will be at least one "epic" hike nearby and a couple of other shorter hikes and/or other activities to enjoy. And it should be a day's drive (or shorter) from Reno, NV. Lake Tahoe would be ideal but we all live nearby and go there regularly.
Posted By: Steve C Re: Vacation Destination - 11/01/15 05:17 AM
This may be out of your "day's drive" from Reno, but two years ago, my family was able to visit Yellowstone, which according to Google Maps, is a 10 hour drive from Reno. We only spent 3 days driving around YNP, because we also visited Glacier NP in the same trip. We flew and rented a van, but if people had more time and no problems with driving distances, a road trip would work ok.

We only did a small hike in Yellowstone, along the Yellowstone River. But there are some epic day hikes in Glacier. Unfortunately, Glacier is more than that one-day distance.
Posted By: John Sims Re: Vacation Destination - 11/01/15 05:54 AM
You (and your friends) may have already been there, but St. George, UT is ~ 8 hour drive. Many condos and homes for rent, and close to Zion, Bryce, Lower Antelope Canyon, etc..... Sorry, no beach:-(
Posted By: Harvey Lankford Re: Vacation Destination - 11/01/15 01:08 PM
7 hrs on rte 95 from Reno to Red Rock Canyon just west of Las Vegas. Ice Canyon hike, Calico Rocks, The Tanks and LAS overlook, Turtlehead Peak ,etc.
Best time is not summer (temp)

Red Rock Canyon hikes

LAS has expanded westward that houses are nearby to the hiking area. Surely there are some to rent from HomeAway or other agencies. I do not think there are park-like cabins but I could be wrong. There is a campground,
Red Rock NV Campground
Posted By: Bob West Re: Vacation Destination - 11/01/15 05:34 PM
Santa Cruz is a great vacation destination. I grew up near there, and spent many happy days in the surf and mountains.
The beach at the town can be crowded during the summer, but just south of there is Sea Cliff, which is much less so.

Near Santa Cruz is Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which has over 80 miles of forest hiking trails. Home of the famous Banana Slug, the mascot of UC Santa Cruz. Well worth the visit.

North of Santa Cruz is Half-Moon Bay, which has very big, world record surf. The drive to there from Santa Cruz has many beach opportunities.

And not to leave it out, is Monterey, a short drive south of Santa Cruz, which has a world class aquarium.

Great sea food too!
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